How to share other people's photos on social media

On their wall is the most incredible photo – a waterfall cascading through a dense rainforest, where a finger of sunlight falls through the canopy and dances on the swirling mist as a rainbow drifts by the veil of soft white water. A fleeting moment, skillfully distilled from nature to lens and onto their wall to be enjoyed time and time again.

You’re so impressed by their eye for beauty that one day you decide to lift that stunning photo off their wall. They won’t even notice, you tell yourself.

You know we’re talking about your online wall, right? The one you browse through on Facebook and Instagram and any array of social media platforms – this isn’t a story about you stealing from a house, it is about stealing off a virtual, online, wall.

There is no difference.

A photograph, a work of art, has essentially the same ownership structure no matter if it is framed and hung in a gallery or digitally posted to an online gallery.

But, online stealing other people’s photographs is common practice. Not crediting their work is the norm.

Why we allow, or seemingly allow, this to happen is beyond me. Don’t get me wrong – when I see an amazing image online I often want to share it with my own friends and networks too.

Facebook makes it super easy by having a ‘share’ button that spreads the post to a wider audience while still linking back to the original post.

Instagram does it differently. There is no ‘share’ button. There is no native way in the App to share someone else’s photo while automatically linking back to the original post.

Reposting/regramming of other peoples work without crediting is a massive problem that has plagued the online world since the beginning. It’s become normal, accepted and sometimes even advocated.

However, every un-credited share, post or 'gram' devalues the photographers work. It diminishes their opportunities for licensing – and therefore income – and completely ignores the most basic moral conventions of our community – it is theft.

There is a common notion that anything online is free to use. We've heard that many times before. Say it as much as you like, it’s not true. It has never been true.

So how do you share and post photos online legally and respectfully?

The helpful tips below relate to Instagram and Facebook as they are the most popular image sharing sites in Australia, but can be broadly applied across most social media platforms.

First of all, you should know that posting other peoples work on your Instagram account is against the Terms of Use you agreed to when you set up your account.

You are most likely breaching copyright laws by sharing other peoples work and not crediting them.

Accounts are regularly deleted for breaching the Terms of Use – including accounts with a few followers to hundreds of thousands of followers.

If you intend to re-post someone else’s image on your own social media accounts, you have three ways to do this:

Credit

Share

Link

If you’re not willing to do any of these, then you have no choice but to not re-post the image.

1. Crediting

Whichever method you use, crediting is the common theme to adhere to.

In your caption always make it clear whom the image belongs to.

On Instagram, this means using their @ handle and tagging them in the image.

On Facebook you link directly to the photographer's Page.

Insider’s tip:Avoid mentioning other people’s @ handles or usernames in the caption – every time you add another name you lower the click-through rate the photographer may potentially receive.

2. Share

Sites like Facebook make sharing with credit easy, as there is a built-in ‘Share’ button – this keeps a live link back to the original post, ensuring any interest and traffic goes straight back to the source.There is no native ‘share’ function within Instagram – check out the tips further down this article on how to get around this.Insider’s tip: Never save an image and post direct to your own Wall on Facebook. Even if you credit the photographer in the caption, you’ve actually denied them the natural flow-on traffic back to their site they would have otherwise received.

This is a common problem on Facebook. Images and videos re-posted directly to third party Pages can rack up hundreds of thousands of Likes, Shares and Comments – while the photographers Page receives an insignificant percent of that traffic. If you love their work enough to want to share it with your own audience, have the decency and respect to let the photographer receive the love, not your own Page.3. Link

If the content you want to share is not from within Facebook, the same rule applies as Sharing – do not save an image to post directly to your own account. Instead, save the URL and add that to the post. This embeds the original content in your post, allowing traffic to flow to the photographer when your followers engage with it.Insider’s Tip: It is often the case that a post using an Instagram URL will gain more organic reach that a direct post of the same image. As Facebook owns Instagram, it is thought that linking the two sites together works in your favour.

BONUS QUESTIONS:

What if I don’t know who the image belongs to?

If you do not know who the image belongs to that you wish to repost, you should seriously reconsider posting it. If you really, really need to post it, then you must find out who the image belongs to. This is relatively easy in most cases, and is done through a Reverse Image Search site (for example Google or TinEye) and some simple following back of links from the post you’ve taken the image from.

My account is for my business – can I still use any image I find as long as I credit?

Short answer is no. Long answer is – see below: If you run a business account you MUST gain permission from the photographer first before re-posting – crediting them is not the final step. Whether you will make a dollar off the post or not, you are sharing the photo as it fits with your brand and builds your story with your audience – who you hope will eventually make a purchase from you.You are arguably therefore using the photo for a (even potentially tiny) commercial gain, as part of your sales path. This is a huge issue, and one photographers will pursue vigilantly. It doesn’t matter if you are selling something directly through Instagram, or just building your brand story on the platform – if you intend to use photo you must clear it with the photographer. It is likely you will be asked to pay for the use – and so you should. Additionally, the photographer may not wish for their photo to be associated with your brand or business and as such you should respect their request to remove it or not post at all.

Here is an easy step by step guide to re-posting images on Instagram that will bring fantastic content to your followers while giving full credit to the photographer.

1. Obtain Permission to Share

Before re-posting someone else’s photo, the simplest way to start is to ask them for permission. You can do this by:- Posting your request in the comments on the photo you want to share or sending them a direct (private) message

It is important to be clear about what you are asking.

Too vague: “I think my followers would really love this too”Clear and precise: “May I please repost this on my account, with credit?”

If the photographer says yes, then you can post it.If the photographer says no, you cannot post it. Respect their answer.

2. Saving the image

As Instagram won’t let you share the image with the push of a button, it is necessary for you to save the photo to your device that you want to repost from.When saving an image from Instagram:

Take a screenshot of the post, with the username of the photohgrapher clearly shown

Copy the URL of the image and open it in an image downloading service (like dinsta.com). This maintains as much resolution and quality as possible.

Never post a screenshot. Screenshots are low quality, and will quickly degrade the integrity of the photo. (The photographer didn’t share a blurry version of the photo, so neither should you. If you share a low quality copy of their photo, they’re unlikely to be pleased and will potentially ask you to remove it)

I suggest taking a screenshot purely for your reference – if you follow these steps, you will have a good resolution image to post plus alongside it a reference point so you remember who it belongs to.3. Posting with Credit

To be honest, most people won’t bother with step one – that’s more a wish than the norm (but you’ll gain online cred if you ask permission first – and perhaps avoid a public discussion on your post about why you’re posting other people's work without permission). When you post someone else’s photo to your own account, it is imperative that you:

Credit the photographer in the caption, using their @ username

It is preferable to tag them in the image, too

That’s not the end of the story, though.

If you skipped step one and the photographer leaves you a comment (or sends a direct message) asking you to remove the image from your account, you don’t have a choice – remove it.

They are not being precious, they are protecting their work. Behind the scenes the image you shared may be licensed for use only by them, or be part of a campaign for a client. You don’t need to know why they don’t want you sharing it. The important part is that they have requested you remove it, and you have to follow that request.

Showing respect for other people's work is something we need to work harder at, and by crediting photographers properly when sharing their work you are helping to improve our online culture.

Re-posting other peoples work on your own Instagram account may seem like a flattering thing for you to do – and it can be but only if you clearly credit the photographer and do it with their permission.

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Comments

Esther Beaton

This is well - intentioned but I’d like to point out some inconsistencies.
There are some ambiguous statements, for example: "You are most likely breaching copyright laws by sharing other peoples work and not crediting them." There is a BIG difference between copying and sharing. They are not the same. Don't use the word "sharing" when you mean "copying". You can SHARE a link. You cannot COPY an image and paste (or post). Sharing is really just a form of linking.
Also, “credit” and “copyright” are not the same thing. Just naming the original author/creator does not mean you have obtained permission to copy the image. You also can't ask for permission after you have copied an image. The word "copyright" means that the image is owned, and you have to obtain the right to copy it - under all circumstances. If the credited photographer asks you to remove an image, that might not be the end of the story. You have still breached copyright and are liable to prosecution. Breach of copyright laws are treated seriously by most governments around the world and there has been an increasing trend towards criminal penalties.
I think the article is well done, nevertheless. In the end, it is encouraging people to acknowledge the original creators and not to steal from them. Thank you.

Ryan

A good article, and one of definite interest to me as I am a keen photographer.
I like to share my images, but I do like to be credited (which I don't think is asking too much), and it irks me alot when my images are misused and/or not credited to me.
As a result of the misuse/failing to credit me, I have become alot more restrictive in how I share my photos, which does not sit well with me, and has got me a reputation of a non-sharing, secretive, cranky bugger.
Alot of people and organisations seem to think that photos are easy and hence should be free, which I think drives thier attitudes.
As an example of this attitude, the government department that I work for has a policy that explicitly prohibits the acknowledgement of photographers (either internal or external).
The department has used many photos of mine that I have taken both in professional and personal capacities, and they have not credited me.

Nadia Reckmann

Thanks for the great post, Paul! I'll sign under this one: "If you do not know who the image belongs to that you wish to repost, you should seriously reconsider posting it." Too often is the "I just didn't know" excuse used to justify image theft.
I wanted to add another tool to your Reverse Image Search list - Pixsy (https://www.pixsy.com/). Full disclosure: I work there and I love it :)
Pixsy mostly helps photographers keep an eye on the use of their photos online and get compensated if their work was stolen (for example, if image users didn't follow your tips above).
Thanks again for these tips and educating image users and let me know if you'd want to give Pixsy a try -- I'd be happy to walk you through the process.

Mostafa Kamal

This is definitely great job for every social users. I know how to share it..

lesley

So, can I save this article for future reference or share it, without your permission? What if the photos I want to share are of my own child, taken by someone else, who unbeknowns to me, has a photography business. If the photographer (who I thought was just another mum) asks if I would like her to take some photos of my daughter, amongst other photos she planned to take, at a public event, do I have the right to save and print those photos? I did ask permission to share but felt I shouln't need to, as my permission was not sought to post them on facebook, where I saw them for the first time.
if you cannot answer this without risk of identifying the photographer I.e. not to be published, then please do not reply. The photos are beautiful & the lady has offered me a disc of non-watermarked images. I do not wish to offend her. I am just trying to learn social media.

Crissouli

Thank you, I'd like to post a link to this blog on my blog, That Moment in Time, Friday Fossicking, under Interesting Blogs if that is ok.
http://thatmomentintime-crissouli.blogspot.com.au

Barbara Turner

A brilliant article. It's a pity that this message doesn't get through to the Facebook Group where it''s needed most. If anyone were to post this link in this particular history group they would be promptly banned and the link removed. 'Such is the arrogance and the disregard for the courtesy of acknowledging the research of others by one Admin in particular.

Darryl

Excellent post. I'll be sharing this around.
Should also add that no photo should be altered and that includes posting to Instagram. Using a "No Crop" app can allow you to post to Instagram and retain the original aspect ratio. Instagram has improved recently and allows landscape orientated photos but still limits portrait orientation to 4x5. Problem is most digital cameras natively capture 4x6.

Max Coulson

Excellent points

Debbie Johnston

Excellent article about a topic that annoys me heaps - and too often those using other's photos are quite innocent and don't understand why it is an issue.

Malcolm Wells

Thanks for that Paul. I love sharing my photos, but it is annoying when someone uses them without crediting you. I have even had to admonish the local newspaper for using the words 'User Contributed' on my photos when they have the name at hand. They even used a cropped version of one of my landscapes recently for an article on real estate and never acknowledged it or asked my permission. I hope people learn from your article.

Melissa Drummond

Fantastic post, Paul - one of the best articles I've read on the subject.

Paul Fleming

Thanks Susan - just trying to get some helpful information out there

Susan Standen

Great post Paul, thanks for sharing!

Lara van Raay

Thanks Paul - I have had other people save and upload my videos before and it's really upsetting. It's great to have these conversations around copyright as it's up to us (the users) to keep the space respectful and friendly.